we stick to our guns, we love like battleships
by charbrose
Summary: this fight was never supposed to be hers/or charlotte enters the fray after samoa joe's brutal attack on seth {established seth rollins/charlotte flair}


_a/n: i'm so sad that seth reinjured his surgically repaired knee, i just had to write something. i've always wanted to write these two, so why not now? some dialogue is taken directly from nxt takeover: san antonio and monday night raw, which means it doesn't belong to me. as always, don't favorite without reviewing._

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 **~*~we stick to our guns, we love like battleships~*~**

 **pairing: seth rollins/charlotte flair**

 **summary: this fight was never supposed to be hers/ or charlotte enters the fray after samoa joe's brutal attack on seth**

 **rating: t**

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 **kiss him**

 **kiss him if he were troy**

 **and you were born for war**

 **~.~**

 **burning cities to ashes**

 **/**

She's barefoot on the balcony of their hotel room. Her glossy platinum waves piled on top of her head in a messy top knot. Her face is scrubbed free of makeup. Her long legs bare, only the very tops of her shapely thighs disappearing underneath the cotton of his Black Craft Cult t-shirt.

This is the way he likes her _most_ ; bare and open, no facade` of robes and crystals to hide behind.

"You're staring," Her husky tone floating to his ears.

"I'm enjoying the view," The lust in his tone is palpable, the air around them suddenly thick. "By the way," He's right behind her now, head bent so his lips are against her ear. "I've been looking for _this_ ," He lifts up the hem of the shirt and gives her right ass cheek a swat. "Since Pittsburgh."

"It's not like you don't know where to find me," She reminds, rose petal lips blooming into a smirk.

"Touche`."

"Also if you want it back _so_ bad, why don't you just go ahead and take it?"

Heat singes his veins as they easily fall into their familiar pattern. Neither is willing to give an inch. They're always challenging each other, trying to one up the other. Pushing and pulling, prodding and poking, _teasing_ until the other breaks.

He sees the tip of a perfectly manicured nail slide along the edge of the hem, back and forth, back and forth and his lips tilt slightly. He'd tease back, but he had been in the shower while she was lounging and he's already shirtless.

His heart pounds while his dick twitches in his sweats; her fingers grip the hem and slowly, inch by inch she reveals herself.

She's flawless. Her five foot ten frame is the perfect combination of toned and shapely. Her strength is as obvious as her beauty, and he takes his time appreciating both. The cut of her biceps calling to him as much as the round shape of her breasts.

" _Fuck, you're gorgeous_ ," Husked against her lips as he pulls her into his arms, drawing their lips into a heated kiss.

Hands roam everywhere as tongues tangle passionately, soon they're a tangle of arms and legs and their skin is glistening with sweat. Her mother of pearl hue marred by bruises from his mouth. His deep tan scratched red and raw from her nails.

Her finger traces shapes along the defined muscles of his pecs, her breathing slowing down while she peers behind lengthy lashes. "Are we going to talk about it?"

She doesn't have to say what _'it_ ' is. She knows he'll know exactly what she means.

A heavy sigh falls from his lips, a hand scrubbing over his face. "What's there to talk about? That son of a bitch's music played and instead of capitalizing on having Sami dead to rights and keeping my Rumble spot, I let it get to me. So, I'm out of the Rumble. Tell me if I missed something."

"If I wanted a recap of the show, I'd go on WWE dot com. What I meant was; _what_ are you going to do about what happened? You're not just going to lay down and accept that you don't have a spot in The Rumble now, are you?"

"Of course I'm not. He cost me The Universal Title and now he cost me a chance to main event Mania, I'm not just going to slink away and cry in the corner about it. I know that's what he wants; me giving up, but I can't. He disappeared after that night in Kansas City and I had my opportunites after that and if it wasn't for fucking Jericho, that title would be mine. But I don't care about the title any more, I care about what he did. I'm not stopping until I get my hands on him."

"What are you going to do?"

He's about to answer when the gold of her title catches his attention. He bends forward, his lips tracing the shape of a slowly fading bruise on her right shoulder. Looking up at her from behind his thick lashes, his lips bloom into a triumphant smirk as he answers, "Go back to where it all started."

 **/**

Charlotte can't believe Seth's _actually_ going to do this. She can't deny it's a brilliant plan, but it isn't without risk. She doesn't like that he's going alone. She doesn't know what he and Roman _are_ exactly, but she feels like he should have back up. But she knows he wouldn't be happy if the Samoan suddenly showed up at the Freeman Coliseum.

Besides, he probably wouldn't answer his phone, anyway. Not since this was a cross-promotional pay-per-view and Becky was in town. They would be too busy having sex.

Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought and she sighed, flopping down onto the bed, briefly wondering if she should send Dana to bring Seth back. Her flunkie hadn't been useful in weeks, honestly, and maybe she should give her one last errand to do before cutting her lose?

"Ugh, never mind," She mumbled, scrolling past Dana's number. "She would find some way to screw this all up, anyway."

She briefly toyed with the idea of showing up herself, but ultimately decided against it. She didn't trust herself not to stop him. But she shouldn't be trying to stop him anyway, she owed it to him to stay away. He hadn't interfered when she told him of her plans to make sure her Dad paid for raising Sasha's hand after their Falls Count Anywhere match back in November. So, as much as it pained her, she was going to stay out of this. This was his fight with Hunter; not hers.

Instead, she did the next best thing, she reached for phone and sent him a text.

 _burn the place to the ground, if you have to. don't leave until he gives you exactly what you want. i'll be watching. xoxoxo._

The Author's of Pain had just destroyed DIY and Charlotte – her active mind always working – was wondering if she should reach out to Paul Ellering. After all, what was a Queen without bodyguards? Dismantaling the likes of DIY and The Revival would bore his monsters after awhile, wouldn't it? And wouldn't it just be so perfect; being carried to the ring on her throne by them? Farming them out for Seth to use as protection, as well?

With a swipe of her thumb and a contrite tone, her Dad would hand over Ellering's number without a second thought, all too willing to get back in his daughter's good graces again. She toyed with the idea, boucning it around in her mind while the show played on in the background.

Graves was droning on, "You may not like The Author's of Pain, you may not be a Paul Ellering fan, but one thing is for sure when you have to bulldozers who will block for ya and knock down anything in their path..."

And then all of the sudden came, **"THE SHOW'S CALLED TAKEOVER RIGHT?!"**

Her ears perked up and her eyes darted back to the screen. The camera cut away from Graves, Phillips and Watson at the announcer's table and to the ring. Her heart skipped a beat as Seth's face came into view while he began prowling the ring, pacing back and forth, like a caged animal.

 **"WELL, I'M TAKING THIS BITCH OVER! THE FUNNY THING IS THIS WHERE IT ALL STARTED, AND I KNOW – I KNOW YOU ARE BACK THERE, THAT YOU ARE WATCHING THIS! THAT YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING! SO I AM CALLING YOUR ASS OUT, RIGHT NOW, TRIPLE H! COME ON, LET'S DO THIS THING!"**

Her heart pounded as she watched his hand shake while holding the mic as he screamed at the top of his lungs. His whole body was vibrating, practically, the anger as clear on his face as in his voice. He stood in the middle of the ring, arms spread wide, staring at the ramp, waiting for Hunter to show himself.

When he didn't, he went at him again. **"YOU THINK I'M PLAYING AROUND?! THIS IS NOT A GAME! YOU TOOK MY LIFE FROM ME! NOW, YOU GET OUT HERE! I'M NOT LEAVING THIS RING UNTIL YOU COME OUT HERE AND MAKE ME!"**

The murmuring through the crowd told her that Hunter had appeared on the ramp. Her already pounding heart picked up speed as the camera panned from Seth's wild eyes to the ramp where Hunter was. Dressed in a suit, as to be expected, he stood there while Seth unzipped his hoodie and her eyes widened for a moment, taking in the familiar design of his t-shirt, it was the one she wore the night before. Heat flared in the pit of her stomach as he stripped himself of the black cotton, revealing his toned upper body while he crouched in position and motioned Hunter to get into the ring with his hands.

She didn't know what to expect as Hunter stood there staring at Seth with an unreadable expression on his face. She'd known him since she was a little girl and for the first time she couldn't tell what he was thinking. She felt her stomach churn as he shook his head and then turned to the side, beckoning for security, mouthing, "c'mon."

Three security guards surrounded Hunter and one asked what they should do and Hunter told them to get Seth out of the ring, and then he walked away.

Seth fought off the three security guards that surrounded the ring and as they tried to drag him out of the arena, about five more showed up and two referees did as well. She watched as he clawed at the eight or nine men, trying to push his way through while still screaming for Hunter, and she hoped he would be back at the hotel in one piece, that he wouldn't be waiting for Hunter in the parking lot or worse that she wouldn't be getting a call from the San Antonio police. Hunter wouldn't hesitate to have him arrested for this stunt, that much she knew.

 **/**

"I didn't burn the place down," There's his raspy voice and Charlotte leaps from the bed, practically tackling him as he closes the door behind him.

"Whoa..." A soft chuckle as he holds her face in his hands. "You don't have to act like I just came back from war, all right? Those security guards couldn't punch their way out of a wet paper bag."

"Oh, excuse me, tough guy," She remarks, rolling her eyes. "Is it against the law for me to be worried about you? As well as _you_ think you know Hunter, _I_ know him that much better and I couldn't get a read on him when he showed up on the ramp. Besides, I think we both know he wouldn't have hesitated to haul your ass off to jail for what you did."

"You were worried about me?" His chocolate eyes lit up and she gave a put upon sigh, "There really is no end to your massive ego, is there?"

"Just _how_ worried were you? Like on a scale of one to ten? A five, a six maybe? But c'mon, babe, it's _me_ we're talkin' about. I'm The Man, I'm Seth Freakin' Rollins, what's there for you to _really_ be worried about?"

"Your head not being attached to your body, you ending up in jail... There was _a lot_ for me to be worried about, actually. Mainly, you're who's keeping my bed warm at night, and what would I do without you? Have you seen the rest of the roster? I'm lucky I still have my perfect twenty/twenty vision, considering what I have to look at when I'm backstage."

" _What_ would you do without me?" His voice is low, his teeth nipping on her earlobe. "Actually, what did you do _before_ you even met me? There couldn't have been a man who knew what to do with a beauty like you. There's no way a man less than me could handle someone as genetically superior as you. So tell me, Char, _what_ would you do without me? If Hunter had," He scoffs before moving his lips to the curve of her swan like neck, sucking gently at her flawless pearl skin. "Gotten his hands on me, what would you do?"

He's _so_ good; the only man who's ever been able to bring her to her knees, to give in, to beg. Not that it takes much, not from him, anyway. He plays her body like a fine tuned musician would a piano. Her brain's fogged over by the heavy lust only he can inspire. He said something, but what she doesn't know. She only knows the vibrations of his chuckling against her skin.

"Tell me, babe," A croon as his lips slide over hers, a wanton moan escaping her throat as she wants more than just the brief seal of his lips against hers. "What would you do?"

"I would..." A soft sigh as she feels his fingers pluck at her nipples through the silk of her tank top. "He wouldn't..." His whole hand around her right breast and squeezing the flesh stops her. "He wouldn't get away with it. I'd figure out how to make him pay."

"You would?" He stops his ministrations, genuinely surprised by her response. They'd been sleeping together since October, but they'd never really talked about how deep this went. He hadn't expected her to say she'd make Hunter pay. Just because she had banished Ric from her life didn't mean she had given up her relationship with his former protege`.

"Don't act so surprised, Seth. I care about you," Warm as she threads her fingers through the dark strands of his hair. "If he put his hands on you tonight, he would pay. He's been acting like a gutless coward since he stole the Universal Title from you. If he was half the man I thought he was, he would have faced you by now. He has blood on his hands, and I won't forget about it."

"Be careful. If he finds out about us, he won't hesitate to go after you. Or send someone to. Or maybe start whispering in your ear, throw out that he could take your title from you, stuff like that."

"I'm not afraid of him. Just like you aren't. He's going to get what he deserves and if he wants to come after me, let him. The Queen is the most powerful piece on the chess board, and him not knowing you have one, is even better."

 **/**

Backstage at RAW, Charlotte sighed heavily, tapping her foot as she waited for Dana outside of her locker room. Heavy panting and surrying feet signaled the white-haired blonde's arrival, and the Women's Champion rolled her eyes as her protege` came to a screeching halt in front of her. In her arms were several garment bags holding her robes inside.

"Thank you," Curt as she snatched the hangers. "I need you to do something else for me, and if anyone finds out where you were, I'll make sure you never so much as look at a WWE ring again, do you understand?"

Dana's dark eyes went wide as her berry pout started trembling. Pathetic, Charlotte thought scathingly, wanting nothing more than to end this worthless association right now, but she couldn't, which honestly irked her even more. No, Dana _had_ to be the one to do this. It would be too risky for her to show up down in Orlando at the Performance Center, let a lone NXT.

"I said," She snapped, bending so she was eye to eye with the smaller woman. "Do you understand?"

"Uh-uh," A soft timbre in her Ohio drawl. "I understand."

"Good. You're going down to Full Sail for me and I want you to reach out to Paul Ellering. Tell him I have an offer for his two monsters. After you reach out to him, he has twenty four hours to respond otherwise it's off the table. If you screw this up, Dana, pack your bags. Don't bother showing up in Portland. I'll have Stephanie fax your release to you."

"Okay, okay. I can do that."

"I hope you can. Now, run a long; you're burning my retinas."

As Dana rushed away, Charlotte almost jumped when she felt a hand at the small of her back. The distinctive chuckle made her relax as she breathed in his wonderful spicy scent. "What was that about?"

A slow smirk bloomed across her glossy lips as she tilted her head back and said, "Nothing your pretty little head needs to worry about."

"Pretty?" He scrunched his nose. "I think you mean devilishly handsome."

"Let's not get carried away," A pinch of his cheek while her voice is sacchrine sweet.

"I'd rather carry you away," Low and warm, his lips sliding against hers, drawing her into a steamy kiss.

"Ahem," The sound of someone clearing their throat had the pair pulling away and when they turned, Stephanie McMahon was standing a foot away with her arms crossed over her chest. Charlotte moved to stand in front of Seth, eying the Billionaire Princess with disdain as she asked, "Can we help you, Stephanie?"

A low chuckle came from Stephanie while an impish grin appeared on her painted lips. "If anything, I'm the one who can help you. Charlotte, do you really want to go down this road? Associating yourself with the likes of..." Appraising Seth with a sad shake of her head. " _This_ , a washed up former Champion, a failure who threw away the opportunity of a lifetime; is this really what you want do to?"

Charlotte could feel her fingers forming a fist at her side. Anger was flaring inside her veins. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped into Stephanie's personal space, practically nose to nose with her boss. "You would know about washed up former Champions, wouldn't you, Steph? You're married to one. One, so washed up and disgraced, that he doesn't have the balls to face my man. He turned tail and ran after putting the title on Owens, and hasn't been around since. Looks like he's a little too comfortable in his suit these days."

"I would take a step back if I were you, little girl." Nothing but a growl from the older woman. "That title you treasure so much, can be taken from you before you can blink."

"You'd never. You can't stand Bayley. You don't even want her here. Sasha is exactly what I said she is; a flash in the pan, all hype and no substance. Nia is all power and no grace. Can she string more than three words together? Dana is a botch waiting to happen every match. Summer Rae and Paige have all but disappeared. _I am_ this division," Now they are nose to nose, Charlotte's voice rising with every word. "So I _dare_ you, Stephanie, take the title from me and see the scraps you're left with. I've been keeping your Women's Division afloat, all by my lonesome and don't think I won't leave you in a bind. So call my bluff. I'll be waiting in the Queen City for you to come crawling back to me on your knees."

Backing away, Charlotte flipped her platinum curls over her shoulder and began sashaying down the hallway, leaving a bereft Stephanie behind. Seth laughed loudly, shaking his head. "It burns you," He taunted. "That she's not wrong, doesn't it? Well, it's really going to burn you when I give your husband the beating he deserves. If he's not here tonight, I'll just go ahead and roll down to Orlando and give it to him in his cushy office down at NXT HQ or maybe his other office up at WWE HQ. Either way, I'm getting my hands on him and he's going to pay."

 **/**

Charlotte sat backstage with one shapely leg crossed over the other, her eyes firmly fixed on the monitor in the catering area. Stephanie was going to confront Seth tonight after banning him from The Rumble the previous night. She wanted nothing more than to interrupt and tear those russett curls from their roots, but she knew she had to stay back.

She was working on a back up plan in case anything happened Seth would be able to retaliate against whatever Hunter had planned. She hated that she had to rely on Dana, but she hoped the little flunkie could at least get this right. She didn't notice Roman sliding into the chair next to hers until she heard the rumble of his deep voice, "You stayin' put?"

"You managed to tangle yourself away from Becky and come up for air for your Universal Title Championship match and to enter The Rumble, didn't you?" She remarked lazily, eyes still focused on the monitor.

"If you are," He ignored her dig. "I'll be right there if shit goes down."

"He's not a damsel in distress, Reigns. He knows what he's doing. But that's awfully sweet of you. Becky would be proud. I'll be sure to text her all about it tonight."

"He knows what he's doin', huh? You sure? Hunter's a crafty son of a bitch..."

"Neither of you knows Hunter as well as I do. Let's put it this way, if anything goes sideways, I know how to get things back on track. But it's so cute that you care. Are you two going to braid each other's hair and paint your toenails together now?"

Before Roman could answer, Stephanie's voice came through the monitor, which made Charlotte turn away; ending their conversation. " _As a matter of fact, Seth, you shouldn't be out here calling out my husband, you should be begging us both for forgiveness."_

" _You want me to apologize to you..." "Yes, I do..." "To your husband? You, you want me to apologize to these people?"_

" _You know what? As a matter of fact, they don't deserve an apology, but I do."_

" _You know what? She is the Boss. And you know, Steph, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that for over the last two months, I've exposed your husband for the gutless snake that he really is! I called him out, and what did he do? He had his security do his dirty work. And who is that? Who is that? That guy that stood out there in that suit, that is not Triple H, that is not The Game, that is not The Cerebral Assassin. That's a scared dude, that's what that is. And if you think going down to NXT is bad for business, remember what I said to you backstage tonight? What if I showed up at his office down there? Or up at WWE Headquarters? What happens when I invade the next board of directors meeting? How are the suit and ties in New York gonna like that? How's your father gonna feel about that? The bottom line is, this doesn't end until I get my hands on Triple H, and I slay the king!"_

Charlotte and Roman watched as Stephanie stepped toward the ropes and Seth advanced. Just as it looked like she was about to step through the ropes and walk back up the ramp, sthe stopped.

" _You know what, Seth? I lied. Triple H is on his way to this arena, right now. Triple H is coming and he's coming for you!"_

 **/**

Charlotte was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. Dana still hadn't texted her with an update regarding her assignment. She could feel Roman's steely gaze tracing her every move, and her temper was rising. Couldn't he leave well enough alone? He'd done his damage to Strowman, paying him back for his interference the night before. Shouldn't he be having phone sex with Becky right now?

Any moment, Triple H was going to be coming down the ramp and standing in the ring. Everyone had seen his limo arrive at the arena. If Dana failed... No, she shook her head. She couldn't think that way. Failure wasn't an option. This had to work.

"You look like you're gonna crawl out of your skin," Roman's familiar rumble was right in her ear.

"I'm fine," She bit out, looking at her phone once more. "Don't you have phone sex to have? Or better yet, a little girl to tuck into bed via Skype or Facetime?"

"Sumthin's goin' down, and I ain't leavin' until I know where the pieces have fallen. Don't forget, Hunter screwed me too. Maybe I want to stake my claim and take a piece of flesh for myself."

"This has nothing to do with you. Go mark your territory somewhere else. This is Seth's fight and don't think I won't stop you from going out there."

The arena's lights dimmed, ending the pair's conversation for the time being and then the flash of green shone through as "ALL HAIL, ON YOUR KNEES DOG" blarred through the speakers and sure enough, in the middle of the ring was The Game, The King of Kings himself, Triple H.

" _So every day I put on this suit, every day I tie this stupid tie, and I go to the office and every day I try to put that behind me and I try to be a creator. I try to create something more for everybody here and then a guy like Seth Rollins decides he wants to come to NXT. Seth Rollins wants to come where I am trying to create... Where quite honestly, I am trying to create the next Seth Freakin' Rollins! So, I am done trying. I am so done trying."_

They watched as Hunter stripped himself of his suit jacket and loosened his tie before pulling it off and throwing it down in the ring. The crowd cheered as he rolled up his sleeves, after unbuttoning the cuffs and their cheers grew louder as Seth stood at the top of the ramp. They locked eyes, staring each other down for a minute and then Seth made his move, stalking down the ramp, determination in his eyes and every muscle of his body bunched with tension.

Just as he reached the end of the ramp, out of nowhere from the left side of the barricade, someone ambushed him.

Charlotte shrieked as she watched him fall to the ground and immediately she recognized the bulky physique of Samoa Joe. She had been gone from NXT when he debuted, but she had heard rumblings about his signing just before she got called up to the main roster. All she could think about was Seth's injured knee. Tyson Kydd had a pre-existing injury and nearly ended up paralyzed after being in the ring with Joe.

Her phone buzzed, but she ignored the vibrating as Joe began assaulting Seth. She ran toward the curtain while Joe tossed Seth from barricade to barricade and just as she was about to step through, Roman grabbed her by the waist, pulling her away. She struggled in his iron grip, arms flailing and legs kicking as she screamed, "PUT ME DOWN, REIGNS! PUT ME DOWN! FORGET ABOUT ME, IF YOU CARE SO MUCH GET OUT THERE! STOP THAT MONSTER! HE'S HURTING HIM! HE'S HURTING HIM!"

She lost steam, her eyes becoming blurred by tears as she heard sickening thud after sickening thud. Then there was Cole's reedy voice screeching from the commentary table, "JOE'S GOT HIM IN THE COQUINA CLUTCH, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING, HE'S GOT ROLLINS IN THE CLUTCH!"

"Roman..." Pitiful as she kicked and flailed. "I can't let you go, Charlotte. He'll break you in half."

"He's already..." Then came a slow, satisfied chuckle. "What's the matter, Charlotte?" Taunting and cruel as Stephanie appeared in front of the blonde, deadly snarl curling at her painted lips. "You don't want a front row seat to the destruction of your little boy toy? Look at him, he can barely breathe; his ribs are probably crushed and he's trying so hard," Sounding like she was choking up. "Crawling, pitifully at the feet of my husband, like he should be. Let her go, Reigns, let her see what she's missing."

Roman loosened his hold, but didn't let Charlotte go completely. He still held her hand as she lunged toward Stephanie. He knew what Stephanie wanted; she wanted Charlotte to put hands on her, if she did she'd be suspended and the title would be up for grabs. He couldn't let that happen.

The blonde wrenched her hand away and stood nose to nose with the brunette. "This isn't over, Stephanie. Go run along to your husband, congratulate him, praise him but don't forget to tell him this isn't over."

"This is adorable. You believing that you can outwit The Game, The King of Kings, The Cerebral Assassin. I mean, really, it's precious. Hopefully Samoa Joe doesn't put Seth back on the shelf. It would be awful if he was sitting up in that sky box again for Wrestlemania. Or worse if he put him in a wheel chair. Or a neck brace."

"You bitch!"

Before Charlotte could charge toward Stephanie, Hunter's gravel tone came through, "I didn't want to do that, Lottie."

The blonde's sable eyes flared with anger as she rushed toward her father's former protege`. She didn't give a damn if this got her a suspension, so she reared back – red clouding her vision – and gave Hunter's left cheek a stinging slap, that reverberated through the backstage area.

"Don't you ever," Growled through gritted teeth. "Call me _that_ again you son of a bitch! You screwed him out of the title and then you ran away, tail tucked between your legs like it never happened. Deny it all you want, that's the truth. He did _everything_ you ever asked of him. He spit in your face?! He spit in your face?! You spit in his face! And like I told your wife, this isn't over."

"Think long and hard about what you're doing, Charlotte," Warning in every syllable, Hunter's hazel eyes boring into her sable. "You don't want to do anything you'll regret."

"The only thing I regret is thinking you were still the man I've known since I was a little girl. Suspend me for putting my hands on you, take my title, I don't care. You're nothing but a coward in a suit; bringing in Samoa Joe to do your dirty work. It's pathetic."

And with that Charlotte rushed through the curtain and out to the ring where Seth was struggling to regain his breath and get to his feet. It took everything not to lunge at Joe and start throwing punches, but she restrained herself, somehow, as the older man smirked and taunted her by blowing a kiss.

Slipping inside the ring, she bent down and her heart broke. The look in those chocolate eyes said it all; something was wrong, _very_ wrong.

 **/**

"Everything's going to..." Seth cut her off with a shake of his head as the car drove them back to the hotel, "No, it's not going to be okay. My knee is all fucked up again. I heard it pop and then I couldn't put any weight on it. I got my ass handed to me, and now I could miss Mainia _again_."

"I told you if anything happened, that I had a plan, remember? But if you want to go throw yourself a pity party and whine about your knee, I'll," She sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Reward Dana with my presence for the night. After all, the little flunkie somehow managed to do what I asked her to, so I guess I should throw her a bone."

"What?" Seth asked, bewildered, brows furrowing in confusion.

"Before you found me in the hallway, I had Dana running errands; getting my robes dry cleaned, shining my boots and the like, then I decided – since I wasn't going to have an actual match tonight, but that ridiculous mixed tag with Gallows and Anderson – she could do something else for me. Before you crashed Takeover," Charlotte's lips bloomed into a satisfied smirk. "I saw an insurance policy for you if Hunter decided to bring in someone on his side. If I could've gotten them here by tonight, I would have and I really wish I had, but they'll be in Portland next week."

"They?"

"The Authors of Pain. It's almost too perfect, really. They'll beat up anyone, anywhere and Joe won't survive in a two on one fight. Hunter won't see it coming. I didn't even have to beg for my father to cough up Ellering's number. He was all too happy to help me. Too bad it's not going to get him anywhere."

"How did you do it?"

"I made that wacko Ellering an offer his monsters couldn't refuse; someone close to their own size to pick on instead of poor, pathetic little Ciampa and Gargano. Luckily, I'll still be in Portland after I slapped Hunter across the face when he came backstage."

"You hit him?! Charlotte..."

"I wasn't going to let him get away with sending Joe out there to hurt you! He was going to know exactly where I stood. I had to draw a line in the sand, Seth. If I didn't, Stephanie would've told him how she saw us kissing backstage. He was going to try and get to me, to prey upon the fact that I've known him since I was a little girl, that he sheperded my career and helped me grow into who I am now, and I wasn't going to let him."

"You'll probably lose the title," His voice was soft, peering at her through the length of his thick lashes. "He won't stand for your disobedience, he'll think of this as a betrayl. He'll want you to pay."

"I'm one step ahead of him. Remember what I told you?" She reached for his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "The Queen is the most powerful piece on the chess board, and that's what you have on your side; a queen. I know what I'm doing. And if he does," She sighed, casting a glance at the beautiful title to her left with its smooth white strap and glittering crystals and rhinestones. "Take the title from me, so be it. You're more important than any title."

"Oh, yeah?" There was a spark in his chocolate eyes and she felt her lips curl easily into a smile.

"Yeah."

 **/**

"You're up to something," There was the familiar rumble of Roman's deep bass as he shut the door to Charlotte's personal locker room behind him.

Charlotte swiped the wand of her lipgloss across the plump shape of her lips, staring at her reflection in the mirror and not turning away to acknowledge Roman's presence. They were at the Moda Center in Portland and (of course) she wasn't scheduled to have a match, but it was announced that Bayley would be facing her for the title next week in Las Vegas, not that she cared. She would be leaving the T-Moblie arena as the Raw Women's Champion, and she couldn't wait to throw it in Stephanie's face.

As she reached for the curling iron, Roman's hand clamped down on her wrist, his dark eyes boring into hers. "What's goin' down?"

Yanking her wrist away, she glared. "There's no need to get physical, Fabio. Also, this isn't any of your business, so I don't know why you're so concerned about whether I'm up to something."

"You think you're all big and bad now, but don't forget that I know you. You used to crawl into my bed when you and Reid would stay over and ask why Ric couldn't be home like my Pops was. We ran around covered in popsicle together. You," His voice dropped an octave. "Were my first _real_ kiss, remember? So go on and play the bad bitch, but Charlotte, you can't fool me. Just tell me what's goin' down."

"Why can't you play as dirty out there as you just did with me? If you did, you would be Universal Champion right now. As for what's going down, I'm about to play The Game," An impish grin on glossy lips. "Hunter and Samoa Joe think they've won. Joe did his job, he put Seth on the shelf for now, but they weren't counting on me. Just know that I'm not letting him go down without a fight."

"You sure you know what you're doin'? Steppin' into the middle of this? Getting your hands dirty?"

"I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm the daughter of The Dirtiest Player in the Game. Hunter wants to think of me as the little girl who ran around the feet of Evolution, that's his problem. He needs to know I'm all grown up, and I don't give a damn about who he was. He severed all ties when he had that savage monster target Seth's knee and hurt him. So that's what's going down, I'm about to outwit The Game and put his new toy on notice."

 **/**

Inside the ring, Mick Foley and Stephanie were with Samoa Joe as his RAW contract was put in front of him. Charlotte watched as Stephanie gleefully recapped Joe's debut and the next thing she heard was a voice akin to gravel in her ear, "You offered a most interesting opportunity, Ms. Flair. An opportunity to golden to pass for my monsters."

A shiver rolled through her body as she turned and faced the goulish figure of Paul Ellering.

"Just make sure they hold up they're end of the bargain." Less confident than she initially intended, but it was hard not to be caught off guard as Ellering seemed to have materialized out of thin air.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. It's Samoa Joe who has to worry. Rezar, Aikam," He barked and another shiver rolled through Charlotte's body as the heavy footfalls approached and the two enormous physique's of the Romanian monsters appeared. "You are ready to add to the next chapter of The Book of Pain, aren't you?"

All they did was nod and Charlotte smiled, that's exactly what she wanted to hear. "Tear him limb from limb. Make him pay for what he did. I don't care if he can stand when this is over."

She couldn't see anything from behind the rubber gas masks on their faces, which were covered up by some kind of veil, and honestly she didn't need to. She had seen all she needed to at Takeover San Antonio.

" _And if loyalty to that one man, means comin' out here and beatin' up Seth Rollins and putting him on the shelf, then so be it..."_

"Go," Charlotte ordered, her voice shaking as she pointed straight to the ring. "Go out there and make him pay. If you're worried about losing your NXT titles, don't be. I'll take care of Hunter, as promised. You two take care of _him_."

" _In fact, I'm putting your whole locker room on notice! I will beat down your heroes! I will choke them out and when they wake up, I will beat them down again! Because The Destroyer has arrived and there is nothing you can do about it!"_

 **/**

It all happened so fast; Rezar and Aikam storming into the ring, tossing Mick aside and Stephanie fleeing before they went after Joe. It was chaos; the table nothing but splinters of wood, Joe's nice suit nearly torn from his body. This was exactly what Charlotte wanted, destruction. There was Joe struggling to breathe, his body convulsing as he tried to curl in on himself. He mounted what could be deemed – if speaking generously – some offense against Rezar and Aikam, but as he struggled to his feet, they set him up for The Last Chapter, they're finishing move.

The crowd was stunned into silence, so were Cole, Graves and Saxton.

As Ellering moved toward the curtain, Charlotte stopped him. "I don't think so. This is my message, and I'm not hiding behind you and your monsters. Hunter is going to know who brought you here."

"I don't know... What... I'm still trying to figure out what exactly happened out here," Cole struggled to summarize the scene before him.

"I know exactly what happened, Cole," Graves snapped. "Those are The Authors of Pain, the NXT tag team Champions and they're here beacause Paull Ellering – their Hall of Fame manager – told them to be. Why he told them to be here, I don't know, but if he said show up to RAW tonight, that's exactly what they're going to do, and that's what they did. Samoa Joe called himself The Destroyer and then he got torn in half by Rezar and Aikam."

"This is.. this is..." Byron sputtered just as the familiar guitar riff of Charlotte's music blasted through the speakers.

"Charlotte Flair?" Cole questioned in confusion as the RAW Women's Champion strutted down the ring, title gleaming around her waist. She gave her signature queenly waive and as she approached the ring, she blew a kiss at Stephanie who was still cowering outside the ring.

Rezar and Aikam held the ropes open for her to slip in between and she smiled at them, clearly proud of the damage they had done.

"Just what is going on here?" Byron demanded as Charlotte stood in the middle of the ring with a microphone in hand.

"It's your move now, Hunter. It wasn't Paul Ellering who barked orders at Rezar and Aikam tonight, it was me. It was me who broke your shiny new toy. Now, who's going to be on the shelf? What happened to you? To the vaunted Game, to the all powerful King of Kings, the manical Cerebral Assassin? You had to bring in Samoa Joe to do your dirty work for you, and now look what happened; he's been reduced to rubble, that's what. It didn't have to be this way, you could have faced Seth like a man, but instead you ran like the coward you've become."

"Why you little..." Stephanie roared, getting into her feet and as she moved toward the ring, Rezar and Aikam stepped in her direction, making her shrink back.

"I wouldn't if I were you Stephanie..." Charlotte taunted. "I told you this wasn't over. I told Hunter this wasn't over and it won't be until Seth ends this once and for all. A Queen, dear, always beats a Princess. Even one who's a billionaire. I know you're watching, Hunter," She turned from Stephanie and made her way back to the center of the ring. "And I'm not afraid of you stripping the title from me or sending Nia out here to destroy," She used air quotes around the word. "Me. Send Nia, send Auska, send that wacko Nikki Cross, send them all, I'll still be standing. But remember; you did this. Not me, not Seth, you."

Slamming the microphone to the canvas of the ring, she stepped out of the ropes after Rezar and Aikam held them open for her and walked backstage, head held high.

 **/**

That night, she and Seth were a tangle of arms and legs; skin sticking to skin, sheets hapazardly strewn over their bodies. They had been careful of his knee, which was in a protective sleeve. His MCL had a second grade tear, but Dr. Andrews was still reviewing x-rays to determine if surgery was necessary.

"That was so badass," He chuckled, beard tickling her cheek as he nuzzled her skin.

"I told you I had a plan. This is far from over; whether you can come back by Mania or not, but I couldn't," She sighed, rolling over so she was straddling his toned waist. "I couldn't let him get away with hurting you like that. He needed to pay."

"Char, you're risking..."

"What does any of this matter if you're not there? We both know this isn't some fling... It hasn't been for awhile, really. You're fights are my fights and I hope my fights are yours..."

"They are. I'm not backin' down from this. You put all our cards out on the table and now it's Hunter's turn to make a move. Just promise me, you'll protect yourself. If Ro or Becky tells you to stand down, that you will. We have to be careful. Hunter's not just going to let this go after what happened."

"I'll promise to do what they say, if you promise that you'll do everything you can to get back, that you'll stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your head in the game."

"I meant what I told Stephanie; this isn't over until I slay the King. And with you," He pushed his fingers through her platinum waves, drawing her down so he could slide his lips over hers. "By my side, I can make that happen and then some."


End file.
